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Antonio Rogerio Nogueira wins decision over Rashad Evans in snoozer

LAS VEGAS — A bout that was expected to bring some clarity to the light-heavyweight division did little more than bore fans as Antonio Rogerio Nogueira edged former champ Rashad Evans. The fight, which lacked

Neither fighter had an edge in the first round, which began with an extended feeling-out process. Nogueira eventually landed a couple nice rights and a stiff left that caught Evans flush, but Evans answered with a few solid punches of his own, including a right hook to the ear, before a brief takedown.

The second round had more action, but proved just as evenly contested. Nogueira quickly escaped takedowns and had success with his jab and few quick straight punches. Evans avoided any power punches and checked body kicks before finally eating a combo, but he answered with a nice right and a few punches from close quarters before the round ended.

With the fight up for grabs, neither committed early in the final frame. Nogueira continued pawing a jab and landed a few, and Evans partially connected on some combos as he reset. After a brief timeout after taking a finger to the eye, Nogueira connected on a straight left. But the final two minutes of the round offered little more than jabs, Evans' failed takedown attempt, and swings and misses as the crowd lobbed plenty of boos.

Neither fighter clearly took any round, so the scorecards proved to be a crapshoot. In the end, though, the judges sided with Nogueira via 29-28 scores.

While a victory over a former champ is always an accomplishment — and it certainly beats a loss — Nogueira (21-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is unlikely to get much of a boost from the performance, which marked his second straight win.

Evans (17-3-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC), meanwhile, suffers the first back-to-back losses of his career and faces a long road back to the title shot.